Devils by The Black Atlas | EP Review

The Black Atlas is the project of multi-instrumentalist Peter Koronios, and this is his new EP Devils. The project likes to dabble in experimentation while delivering some pretty solid grunge rock riffs, so expect a whole load of 90’s esque sounds complete with strange behaviour and weirdness…..expect the 90’s in that case then. Expect the Rugrats and Stone Cold Steve Austin to beat the shit out of you.

Lead single Moonsong kicks things off by creating an atmospheric that is rife with darkness and shaded by shadows. Eery guitar sounds, horns and piano chords contribute to the intro which emphasises the creepy avenue you’re in right now, sounding very much like a slightly milder Swans song. What follows however is freaking awesome though; a beautiful acoustic melody plays before Koronios lets loose by bringing forth this fantastic wall of distorted noise that’s bolstered with superb drums and passionate vocals, turning this eery atmosphere into a fantastic, gloomy opera of sorts.

Black Milk follows with a similar sorta thing, spilling all sorts of sounds at the start and desperately trying to pick out some sort of direction for it. It ends up finding something that’s pretty darn groovy actually, as the calm bassline connects with the frantic drumbeat to create something pretty good before another solid guitar section comes in to add a little OOMPH to the mix.

XIII brings Devils to a close with a superb finale that would make all grunge revivalists happy. Instead of starting off scattered and all over the place the track gets immediately going with a sweet dose of melodies and drums that sound AMPED UP to deliver something good, and boy do they deliver something good. The result is a huge, heavy jam complete with guitar riffs that syncopate with atmospheric melodies and it just sounds awesome, and is a brilliant way to close off this EP.

Devils is a very solid EP that delivers three songs which offer up something a little strange but a little good too. It’s kinda like that weird guy you know, sure he likes to eat his toenails but he’s still a good guy. For more music reviews, free downloads and I was gonna say he likes to eat his own shit check out Exploding Head Syndrome on Facebook and Twitter.